Victim of Friday homicide identified

CENTRAL CITY - The Linn County Sheriff's Office on Saturday identified the victim of Friday's homicide as 47-year-old Gregory William O'Hare of Cedar Rapids.

O'Hare's body was taken to the State Medical Examiner's Office in Ankeny for an autopsy, and results are pending, authorities said.

Law enforcement officials responded to a call around 8:30 a.m. Friday from a neighbor on Janette Nehl Lane in rural Central City about a body lying in a yard. First responders discovered O'Hare lying in the roadway, and Sheriff Brian Gardner said he was “obviously dead.”

Gardner said clues led officials to the nearby residence of Martin Paul Wilkinson, 63.

As they closed in, officials alerted nearby residents to stay inside until further notice. A SWAT team set a perimeter around 2567 Windy Hill Circle and attempted to negotiate with Wilkinson, but they proved fruitless. In the end, officers used tear gas to force Wilkinson out of the home. Once he exited the residence, Gardner said Wilkinson began to struggle with deputies and a Taser had to be employed.

Wilkinson remained hospitalized Saturday at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids for treatment of injuries believed to have been sustained before the standoff, Gardner said in a news release.

Charges are pending and the incident remains under investigation.